Page 49 of Ethan

She thought about Ethan and last night and this morning. The way he’d looked at her in the barn, how he’d kissed her before he left. The way he’d gone out of his way to protect her reputation with the men without making a big deal of it.

She was falling for him.

She’d known it for a while if she was honest with herself, but standing here in this cabin in the morning light it felt undeniable. Real. She hadn’t let herself feel in a long time.

She took a breath and turned away from the window.

She wasn’t going to panic about it. She was just going to let it be what it was and see where it went.

She walked back out into the sunshine, untied Jewel, and mounted.

“Come on, sweet girl,” she said. “Let’s go home.”

****

Ethan walked the aisle, checking on the horses, his mind only partly on what he was doing.

He kept thinking about Naomi out there on her own.

He didn’t love the idea. The property was big and the wildlife was unpredictable, mountain lions, the occasional bear working down from the tree line in summer. Things that could spook a horse without warning.

But she was a grown woman, a capable one, and he’d learned that fast enough. He’d seen her handle a difficult horse without blinking and he’d seen that temper of hers come out the very first day they met. She wouldn’t appreciate him hovering and he knew it.

Didn’t stop him from glancing toward the barn door every few minutes.

He checked his watch, then moved on to the next stall and told himself she was fine.

He heard the truck pull up right on time and walked out of the barn to meet it.

The man who stepped out was somewhere in his fifties, weathered and solid, the kind of man who’d spent his life outdoors. He extended his hand as Ethan approached.

“Mr. Harrison. Carl Pruitt. We spoke on the phone.”

“Mr. Pruitt.” Ethan shook it. “Good to meet you. Come on in.”

He led him into the barn and down the aisle to the stall of a bay mare he’d had in rodeo competitions for the two years. She was good. Better than good.

“This is Copper,” Ethan said. “Five years old, fifteen and a half hands. She’s been running the rodeo circuit for two years. Her times are consistent and she’s got a good temperament. Doesn’t spook easy.”

Carl leaned on the stall door and looked the mare over with the unhurried eye of a man who knew horses. He was quiet for a long moment.

“Can I see her run?”

“That’s why you’re here.” Ethan unlatched the stall. “Give me a few minutes to get her saddled.”

He saddled Copper himself and led her out to the outdoor corral where Rowdy had the barrels set up. Carl followed and leaned against the rail without a word.

Ethan checked the cinch one more time, put his foot in the stirrup, and swung up. Copper shifted beneath him, alert and ready. He walked her around the perimeter once, feeling her out, letting her settle into him.

She was good. He’d always known it but here in the saddle he felt it more clearly. Light in the bridle, responsive, coiled up and waiting.

He set her up at the start, took a breath, and gave her the signal.

She launched.

Ethan hadn’t run a pattern in years, but his body took over the way it did with things learned young. He took the first barrel clean, felt Copper dig in and drive to the second, took it tight, then the third, and brought her home hard down the alley.

He pulled her up and sat there for a second, his blood running faster than it had in a while, then he walked her back to where Carl stood at the rail. He hadn’t noticed the second figure beside him until he got closer.